Bill Gates on the importance of energy storage

TED2010

In 2010, Bill Gates gave a talk at TED with the topic “Innovating to zero!” where he expressed his vision on energy conversion, storage and usage in future.

WHAT

Invent technologies which reduce half the emission of CO2. Support innovation to reduce the CO2 emission (basic research funding, market incentives to reduce CO2, entrepreneurial opportunity and rational regulatory framework). “Zero” CO2 emission as the final wish.

WHY

Fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal) are limited but from even more importance is the damage by the released CO2 when all the fossil fuels were burned. New nuclear reactors could produce energies for the next centuries. Renewable technologies (solar, wind etc.) need storage solutions to compensate for the fluctuation in electricity supply (“All the batteries on Earth can only store 10 minutes of the world’s electricity needs.”). Make solutions economic favorable and they will be used.

WHEN

2020 20%, and 2050 80% reduction in CO2 emission is advised. Following to Gates, 20 years are left to invent and 20 years to deploy (for advanced nuclear plants). Geo engineering is mentioned as a possibility to delay climate changes.